


Vacation

by rinthegreat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Humor, M/M, Romance, Shiro deserves happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 01:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: With all the shit the Galra have done to him, Shiro’s not even surprised to find out they cloned him too.





	Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally for another zine that fell through. (if i had a dollar every time someone said that...)
> 
> anyway the original theme of the zine was something happy for shiro, so naturally i made some shiro clone nonsense and shance fluff. hope you guys enjoy! betaed as per uz by [thislittlekumquat](http://thislittlekumquat.tumblr.com/).

With all the shit the Galra have done to him, Shiro’s not even surprised to find out they cloned him too. The rest of the team doesn't take it so well. He walks onto the bridge for the first time in a year, and there’s immediate pandemonium.

“Shiro?”

“What’s going on?”

Voices clamber over each other, as Shiro looks himself – the other him – in the eyes. His hair looks more hacked than properly cut, his eyes wide as he meets Shiro’s gaze. The distinct sound of a Bayard transforming echoes in the shuttle bay, and Shiro finds himself face to face with a red rifle.

Wait…red?

“Don’t move,” Lance says. Shiro leans slightly to the side, to see what Lance is wearing. Still the blue paladin suit.

“Why are you using Keith’s Bayard?” He asks.

Lance frowns, perfect skin marked by those lines but nothing else. So at least he wasn’t horribly wounded while Shiro was gone. A quick glance around at the rest of the team reveals no new scars. Thank god.

“I’m flying Red now,” Lance tells him, as unable as ever to ignore anything Shiro directly asks him.

“We lock them both up, figure out which is the real one,” Keith growls.

Shiro groans, but he doesn’t fight it when Lance shoves him with Keith’s Bayard. The other Shiro looks distinctly uncomfortable getting nudged forward by an equally uncomfortable Hunk.

They both end up in a storage room of the castle, cuffs hooked on their Galra arms to keep them from using them. Shiro’s fascinated, but still not shocked, that they made a matching one for his clone.

He sits there, quietly assessing his clone while the team discusses things outside. Unsurprisingly, the clone is doing the same to him. If he weren’t acting like Shiro himself, then there’s no way he could’ve fooled them all for this long. Neither of them say anything for a long time, instead just looking each other up and down.

Keith is the first one to enter. Lance comes in right behind him, rifle ready. Hunk pokes his head in, but closes the door behind them. Keith’s gripping the black Bayard. Shiro’s Bayard. So that explains that.

“I think I’m the clone.”

All three of them glance over at hacked-hair Shiro. Shiro’s own jaw drops. Here he’d thought the clone would’ve insisted on being the real one. “What?” Lance is the one to ask.

Hacked-hair Shiro looks between them before turning his attention to Lance. “All my memories from before are covered in a purple haze. They also said something about phase two of a ‘project Kuron’?”

“So that was phase two…” Shiro breathes, and three sets of eyes turn to him instead.

Keith is clearly at a loss; poor guy never even wanted to be leader. He frowns, but instead of looking to Shiro for guidance the way he had before, he turns to Lance. “What do you think we should do?”

Miracle of miracles. All it took was Shiro disappearing, and finally Keith and Lance aren’t fighting anymore. “Maybe we should see if Coran can undo his brainwashing?”

“What makes you think he’s brainwashed?” Keith asks.

“Why else would the Galra make a clone of Shiro?”

And just like that, they’re looking at both Shiros again. “I…guess?” Clone Shiro says.

“Can you pilot Black?” Shiro asks, curiosity taking over.

“Uh…Black hasn’t let me. I thought it was because Keith was the real black paladin but…” he trails off, not needing to finish that.

Which leads Shiro to the second question. “Can you form Voltron?”

“I pilot Black now,” Keith tells him. “Lance has Red, and Allura pilots Blue.”

Shiro nods. He hadn’t expected that exact outcome, but it’s not completely unexpected. “I think we should put Shiro in Black,” Lance pipes up.

“Why?” Keith turns back to him, but his voice is lacking the heat he would’ve had before. “We know he’s the clone.” He points at the clone.

“Yeah. But we don’t know this one isn’t just a second clone.”

“And that’s why I love you,” Shiro says, smiling at the now blushing Lance.

“What?” Keith looks between him and Lance.

Clone Shiro clears his throat. And oh. He better not have…okay yes, now Shiro’s mad. He turns sharply to his clone who is pointedly not looking at him. Scratch that, he’s pissed.

Keith sighs. “Lance take…uh the clone Shiro –“

“Call me Kuron, I guess.”

“– Kuron to the crypods.”

“No.” Shiro stands up. Despite them thinking he’s the real Shiro, both Lance and Keith tense. “Hunk and Pidge can take him. You both can take me to Black.”

Kuron sighs but stands without questioning it. Whatever brainwashing they did to him at least hasn’t activated yet. As soon as he leaves, Shiro stands up. “Let’s go then.”

Black is exactly the same as he remembers. Warmth fills his mind when he approaches, and when Shiro enters the cockpit, it immediately lights up. He lets out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, relieved. The real Shiro. Who knew that was a concern he’d have?

He has a few words with Black, amusement curling around his consciousness before he steps out of the lion. The connection dies down, lights turning off again. “Proof enough?” He asks and then immediately lets out a huff as Keith launches himself at his chest. “You okay there?”

“Missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Allura’s voice echoes over the intercom. “Keith, we need you in the cryopod room.”

Shiro pats his back. “Sounds like the leader is needed.”

“You’re the leader,” Keith tells him, frowning.

“Give me some time, Keith. Besides, Allura’s not the most patient person.”

To his credit, Keith doesn’t run out of the lion’s bay. He simply walks quickly, leaving Shiro alone with Lance at last.

Lance, who still has his Bayard in rifle form.

“Planning to shoot me with that?” Shiro asks him.

Lance at least smiles a little. “I dunno. This is…a lot.” Shiro steps closer to him. “First you were gone, then you were back. Then there were two of you. Now you’re a clone.” Shiro gets close enough to grasp Lance by his shoulders. Which he does. “Err…he’s a clone. And now you’re not a clone. And it’s really –“

“Can I kiss you now?”

“Please.”

The Bayard disengages and drops to the floor between them. Shiro wastes no time gathering Lance into his arms, fingers slipping on the armor. He breaks free just long enough to rip off the cuff around his Galra arm, giving him enough strength to tear Lance’s armor free of its restraints.

Lance grunts – no doubt that hurt – but the armor clatters to the floor, giving Shiro ample access to the muscles of Lance’s back. Sure, he’s still clothed in the undersuit, but Shiro can still feel that Lance’s back has filled out over the time Shiro had been gone. He loves it.

Their lips move together, relearning each other after months. Lance is just as warm as Shiro remembers, lips just as soft as he’d dreamed back in the gladiator ring. He can’t keep his hands in one place; he keeps moving them around. Lance’s shoulders are even more toned than his back; clearly the team has continued training. Lance’s hair is soft, a little longer than before. Shiro rakes his fingers through it a few times, just to be sure. He tugs it a little, just to hear Lance let out that soft keen he loves.

When they break apart, they’re both breathless, Lance’s hair messed up, and Shiro’s clothes ruffled. The moment Lance steps back, the chest plate clatters to the floor between them. Shiro kicks it out of the way immediately. “I thought about you the whole time.”

“I did too,” Lance agrees.

Shiro still hasn’t let him go, isn’t willing to. “Miss me?”

“Of course.”

\---

He makes it a full three days before enough is enough. Coran, being Coran, manages to reverse Kuron’s brainwashing within a few short hours the first day. And it’s a good thing, too, because Lotor's fleet descends on them with a vengeance. Shiro sits back, letting Keith run point still, and observes the team from the ship. Between him, the other him, and Coran, they're actually able to use the ship’s full fire power, attacking the fleet from all sides as the Galra attempt to flank them.

It’s a long grueling battle, but the team comes back unscathed, if exhausted. Lance lets out a laugh when he gets to the bridge and see the four of them chattering. “Kuron and Coran, the two gorgeous men,” he greets with a wink. Shiro smacks him. “What?” Lance asks innocently. Like he doesn’t know _what_. “They make a good team.”

Lance’s intentional flirting aside, he’s right. Kuron blends into the team almost seamlessly. Now that he’s no longer brainwashed and knows the difference between himself and Shiro, he’s turned into a pleasant presence to have around.

Pleasant enough that Shiro pulls him aside three nights later when he catches Kuron performing his sleepless rounds. “I’m not going to his room,” Kuron protests.

Shiro shakes his head. “This isn't about Lance. Come on.”

He leads the speechless Kuron down the halls to the black lion’s hangar. “What is it about then?” Kuron asks eventually, voice cautious. He has every right to be; they’ve barely known each other a week.

“Don’t ask questions, just get in,” he instructs. He has a theory to test and only fifteen minutes before Lance finishes his shower and beauty routine.

Kuron stares at him but doesn’t protest. He walks up Black’s open jaw, closely followed by Shiro. Shiro motions for Kuron to sit, but this is the moment he objects. “Black won’t accept me. You know that.”

“Black also won’t kick you out just because you sit in a chair,” Shiro points out, counting down the seconds. “Sit. We don’t have all night.”

Kuron sits, obedient but wary. “Is this the part where you kill me?”

“No.” Shiro shakes his head. “This is the part where you become a paladin.”

And because sometimes – not often, but sometimes – the universe works in his favor, the entire cockpit lights up. Shiro grips the back of the chair just in time for the floor to shake as Black lifts her head. Her roar echoes around them, and he hears faint responses from the others, acknowledging the new-old paladin.

When Black lowers her head, and they walk out – Kuron stumbling numbly – Shiro feels the appreciative purr inside his head. He pats Kuron on his shoulder. “Congratulations. You’re the new black paladin.”

\---

“You’re leaving?” Keith exclaims, jaw dropped. Lance’s is clenched as he stands just behind Keith, still performing his duty as Keith’s right hand when Shiro had pulled them both aside. They’ve already had this fight – the night before, in fact – but that doesn’t mean Lance won’t bring it up again.

“Yes,” Shiro says with a nod. “You guys have things handled well enough here.”

“But we _want_ you to stay,” Keith argues petulantly. “Tell him, Lance.”

Lance glances at Shiro, expression clearly saying _I'm not over this_ before he turns to Keith. “Nothing we say is gonna change his mind.”

“What?!” Keith explodes. He turns to Shiro accusingly. “You already talked to him about this?”

 Shiro shrugs. “Of course.”

He turns back to Lance. “And you’re okay with this?”

“No, but he has a point.”

“What point is that, exactly?”

Lance opens his mouth, no doubt to subtly attack Shiro again, so Shiro speaks over his boyfriend. “I’m tired.”

“You’re tired,” Keith deadpans.

“Yes, Keith, I’m tired. My last day off was a week before the Kerberos mission, and do you remember what we did then?”

Keith frowns. “We…went hiking?”

Shiro nods. “Exactly. We went hiking. On my last day off.” Keith still doesn’t seem to get it, so Shiro continues. “Before I took off on a mission, was captured by the Galra, imprisoned and forced into the gladiator arena for a year, crash landed on Earth –“

“I get it,” Keith interrupts. He looks remorseful at the very least.

He walks up and places his hand on Keith’s shoulder. Because as much as he wants this, as much as he _needs_ this, he isn’t heartless. He loves Keith – differently than the way he loves Lance – and he isn’t going to intentionally cause him pain. “I’ll be back, Keith. I just…” He looks at Lance. “I need time.”

“Fine,” Keith agrees. “But you have to be the one to tell everyone.”

Shiro nods. “Fair enough.”

\---

“You’re leaving?” The irony of hearing Kuron repeat Keith isn’t lost on Shiro. This time, both Lance and Keith are on his side – ish – as he tells the team. Pidge is glaring at him overtop her glasses; he knows she thinks of him as a second older brother, and his leaving isn’t going to go over well. Hunk’s head almost seems to ping pong around as he looks between Shiro, Lance, and Kuron, like there’s some kind of joke. Allura’s lips are pursed, but she owes him…well a lot at this point, so he knows she won’t argue.

Coran, however, is nearly bouncing on his feet. “Ah, a vacation huh?” He asks, clearly more excited than the rest of the team. “An old R&R, hmm? I think I have _just_ the thing.”

“No, really, it’s alright…” Shiro waves his hands in front of his face, suddenly nervous. The last time Coran got so excited about something, an orange worm-like food was shoved in Shiro’s face. He doesn’t want an orange wormy vacation.

But Coran is already moving, skidding around like he still has the slipperies as he rushes to the console and pulls up the star map. “Nonsense. I’ve picked up a few things about you humans, you know,” he insists, flipping through the map. “Aha! I’ve got it.” He zooms in on the star system, pointing at one planet in particular. “Planet Playa. It’s made up of what you humans call ‘islands’.”

“Wait, what?” Lance steps forward, and Shiro immediately knows why.

“It’s a beach planet?” He asks. When Lance gives him a look, he shrugs, overly casual. “What? I speak a little Spanish.”

“Really?”

“A very small amount,” Shiro admits when Keith elbows him. “Almost none at all.”

Lance snorts. Coran bravely ignores them all. “Uh, yes, I believe. Areas of sand and pebbles on the edge of large bodies of water.”

“That’s a beach. Can we go too?” Hunk asks, obviously excited. “Lance and I had a spring break trip planned and I was going to try and catch –“

“No,” Allura interrupts. “Lotor is making his move and we need to be ready. We can spare a pod, supplies, and a communicator for Shiro to leave for the planet. But there will be no rest for the rest of us. Really, Hunk. When was the last time you and Lance trained without being forced?” She whirls to Pidge. “And you have hardly worked on your upgrades to the other lions since Shiro returned.”

Hunk and Pidge groan in unison, but neither Lance nor Keith look upset or pleased or…anything upon hearing that. Once it’s clear the conversation is over, Keith leaves, dark cloud clearly hanging over his head. Kuron’s head ping pongs between him and Keith a few times before he slinks out after the paladin. Good; someone needs to follow Keith. If Kuron can help fill the void in Keith’s heart, Shiro will never deny him that. No matter how weird it is.

Allura turns to Coran, and the two of them already start discussing how to get Shiro close enough to take a shuttle without compromising their objective. If Shiro’s hearing things correctly, he’ll be out of the castle and on the beach before the week is out. They don’t seem to need him in the conversation, so he pulls Lance aside before he can disappear somewhere with Hunk.

“Hey,” he says, grabbing Lance’s arm. “Are you still mad?”

Lance levels him with a _look_. “My boyfriend is leaving to hang out on a beach for an indeterminate time, leaving his clone as a reminder of what I lost. No, I’m totally fine.”

Shiro nods. “So yes then.”

“ _Yes_ ,” Lance emphasizes. “Obviously I’m still mad.”

“Tell you what. You guys find that clone machine they used to make Kuron and make one of you. Then give him your lion and come take a vacation with me.”

“As much as I appreciate your renewed sense of humor, that’s not really funny right now.”

“Lance.” Shiro looks around, but there are still too many prying eyes. He guides them out of the bridge into the hallway and presses his lips to the crown of Lance’s head. “I am sorry. Really, I am. And I promise that I will come back. But right now I need a break. If I were to get back in Black right now –“

“I know,” Lance says. “You already told me, and I was there when you gave Keith the speech. Remember?”

“Yes. And you should remember that I said all three times that I will come back.”

Lance nods. “You did say that.”

“But you’re still mad?”

Lance drops his head to Shiro’s shoulder with a groan. “I just don’t want you to go away. At least not without me.” And then quieter: “I’m afraid you won’t come back.”

“How long is too long?” Shiro asks. He’s willing to make a promise, willing to compromise. “A day?” He jokes.

It at least earns a light chuckle. “A day isn’t a break. It’s not even a weekend.”

“Two days then,” Shiro continues to tease. Lance hits him lightly on the chest. “A week?”

“No,” Lance says thoughtfully. “That’s not really a vacation.”

“A month then?” Lance hums but doesn’t reject it. “Three months?” Shiro asks hopefully.

Lance shakes his head vehemently, forehead still pressed to Shiro’s shoulder. “Way too long.”

“Two months?”

“Um…that’s pushing it.”

“One month?”

“I’ll accept two months if I have to.”

“I’ll tell Coran to get me sometime between one and two months. Deal?”

“Deal.”

\---

Three days later, Shiro’s packed and standing in front of his shuttle, ready to say his goodbyes. At least for now. Coran goes first, showing him around the shuttle before hugging him so tight it popped his spine. “Stay safe out there, my boy. You have enough food and drink to last you a full year if necessary.”

Hunk is next. He shoves more food into Shiro’s hands, eyes fond. “Those are breads based off my mom’s recipes. She would send me off to the Garrison with a whole assortment every semester to remind me of home.” Shiro’s so touched, he initiates the hug this time.

Pidge launches herself into Shiro’s chest, engulfing him in an embrace. “You’d better come back,” she threatens. “Or else I’ll stop reigning back on my experiments.”

Allura approaches him, regal as always. “The black lion will still accept you when you choose to return,” she promises. “I will miss you, Shiro. Rest well so you can come back to us.” And to his surprise, she embraces him suddenly. Allura’s so strong that she knocks the wind out of him, and he nearly keels over. When she steps back, she at least looks a little sheepish at having forgotten how much more powerful she is than him.

Kuron steps forward next, keeping with the trend of them saying goodbye one at a time. He grips Shiro’s elbow and looks him right in the eye. “Thank you,” he says earnestly. “I’ve always wanted to fly.”

Shiro nods, pulling him in for a hug so he can whisper in his ear. “You’d better not touch Lance,” he warns.

“Don’t worry,” Kuron whispers back. “He’s not the one I’m interested in.”

Shiro has to school his expression into something less dumbstruck when Kuron steps away and Keith takes his place. “Keith, are you here to warn me about what’ll happen if I don’t come back?”

“I don’t have to warn you,” Keith almost teases. Shiro can see the beginnings of a smirk curling around his lips. Between Lance and Kuron, he’s really started to open up. Shiro can’t be more grateful to them both.

He grins at Keith. “Guess I’d better come back then, huh?”

“Guess so,” Keith agrees easily. He’s happy to be back in Red; anyone with eyes can see that. The day Kuron had announced he could fly Black and would be taking over, Keith had hopped in Red and raced circles around the castle until he was physically sick.

Lance gives Keith a chance to finish his bonding moment with Shiro before coming up. He’s the last one; they can’t prolong this anymore. “So,” he starts. “This is really it then?”

“No,” Shiro reminds him gently. “I’ll be back in a month or two.”

“Make it a month.”

Shiro chuckles. “I’ll do what I can. Kiss goodbye?”

Lance looks around at the others before tilting his head in acquiescence. They usually tend to keep their PDA to a minimum around their friends. But in this case? Shiro’s willing to make an exception. He pulls Lance in, kissing him full on the lips in front of everyone, not caring at all what they think.

It’s absolutely worth it; when he pulls away, Lance is bright red. He savors the moment, memorizing Lance’s face like that and filing it away along with the other memories he has of him. And then he looks around at the rest of them, doing the same thing. A lot can happen in the span of a couple months, and he wants to remember this happy time above all else.

But he can’t stand there forever. His vacation clock is ticking down, and he wants to savor every moment, lazing on that beach Coran showed him a holographic image of. He’s been in the holodeck for the past few days, pseudo-vacationing, but it’s really not the same. So with a smile and a wave, he gets in the packed pod and launches off to Planet Playa.

\---

Some things have changed in the ten thousand years that Allura and Coran were asleep. Planet Playa, Shiro is pleased to discover, is not one of those things. At least not in a way that matters. On a planet semi-free from the Galra, his presence isn’t considered strange or noteworthy. He’s ushered to a landing pad on the heavily populated area of the planet, where a Playan greets him and lays out the vacation options available.

But of course Shiro doesn’t have any money. Once the Playan hears that, they give him a map and coordinates to the area of the planet with “no amenities. Usually those who are more geared towards adventure head there, Guest,” they say.

Naturally, Shiro’s hesitant to go. He goes because he doesn’t have a choice, but he’s nervous that his vacation will have turned into three months of Survival Man: Space Edition.

He’s mercifully proven wrong.

This area of the planet, though free of spas and resorts, is exactly what he wanted. A temperate forest hides his shuttle near a collection of uninhabited caves. Only a short walk away is a long stretch of beach, covered with purple trees bearing thankfully edible fruits that taste like a cross between a mango and a guava.

He breaks out the beach chair Hunk had made for him – with modifications done by Pidge – puts on Starscreen provided by Coran, and passes out on the beach for almost three Playa days straight. The days are slightly shorter here, the nights noticeably longer, and between that and the distance from the star, the beach stays a comfortable temperature. Shiro even gets up the courage to splash in the water, reveling in just how comfortable it is, how clean and clear despite its bright green color.

Sometimes he swims during the day, sometimes at night. He gathers fruit from around his campsite and eats it alongside Hunk’s breads. (Shiro only eats the goo when absolutely necessary.) And like that, the most relaxing, peaceful, enjoyable vacation unfolds around him.

He thinks of Lance often. How Lance would like swimming in the water with him, lazing on the beach, dancing in the warm rain when it falls. Keith, too, crosses his mind. Keith would climb the trees the second Shiro looked away and then tramp off through the forest looking for space-bigfoot alongside Pidge.

The whole team, actually, would enjoy this.

Shiro’s a month into his vacation when a familiar Altean shuttle breaks into the atmosphere. It circles around the island Shiro’s claimed before landing near his own shuttle. He closes his eyes, laying in his chair. If this is the end of his vacation, then he’s going to make them carry him back to the castle-ship. Especially if it’s Lance.

“Hey.”

Shiro peeks and eye open, looking at who they chose to get him.

“Kuron?” He asks, sitting up when his clone pulls out his own chair right next to his. “What’s going on?”

Kuron shrugs. “We found another one.” The wheels clank a little too slow in his head before he finally gets it.

“Another clone?”

“Yup,” Kuron says, popping his p.

“Brainwashed?”

“Of course.”

“Coran fixed him?”

“Yeah.”

“You gave him Black?”

“He seemed excited about it.”

Shiro blinks, watching Kuron lie back and close his eyes, breathing out a sigh like he’d been holding the entire weight of the world on his shoulders. He reaches down and grabs half of his remaining fruit. “Here, you look like you could use this.”

Kuron takes it, eyebrow raised skeptically. “What is it?”

“I call it a guango.”

“Guango?”

“Half guava, half mango.”

Kuron nods, taking a bite. “Tastes good.”

“Yup.”

For a while they both lie there, not talking as the waves crashed just a few feet from Shiro’s feet – at this point he knows exactly how far up high tide comes. Then he finally gives into his curiosity. “I thought you wanted to pilot. What made you come out here?”

“Piloting is great,” Kuron admits. “Being the leader is rougher than I thought. Why do Keith and Lance fight so much?”

Shiro hums. “They’re back to that again, huh?”

“Keith started it this time.”

He chuckles. “And the new clone?”

“Ryou.”

“Ryou. What’s he like?”

“He won’t touch Lance if that’s the question.”

Shiro nods; it was. But he also remembers the few days before he’d left, so he asks: “Or Keith?”

“I’d kill him with my bare hands first,” Kuron says darkly.

“Good.” And then because he still has burning questions: “How long until he comes down here too?”

“He’ll come to get you when your time’s up. We’re taking shifts now.”

“Ah.” All questions finally answered, Shiro settles back down on his chair and falls asleep to the sound of the ocean.

\---

He gets the full two months’ worth of rest he wanted before the third Altean shuttle breaks through the atmosphere. Two months had been just the right amount of time too; he’d long since eaten all of Hunk’s bread, and the guango hasn’t been doing it for him for the past week. Kuron and him have been avoiding each other since the first day, but sometimes Shiro wanders closer to where he knows Kuron is camped out, missing human interactions.

He’s ready to leave.

Ryou barely approaches the stretch of beach he’s resting on before Shiro folds up his chair and gets up. His second clone – with even more white hair than the first – holds out his hand in greeting. Shiro shakes it quickly just to be polite. “Ryou, yeah, nice to meet you. Castle-ship nearby?”

His clone looks at him, confused. “Um, yes. They wanted me to tell you to…hurry…”

Ryou’s voice fades into the background as Shiro all but sprints back to his shuttle, now flanked by two nearly identical ones. He’s been packed for five days.

“Shiro? Are you there?” Coran’s voice crackles through the comm before he escapes the atmosphere.

He feels giddy, helmet on for the first time in months. “I’m here.”

“Hate to break it to you, my boy, but your vacation’s over. If you wouldn’t mind leaving Planet Playa and heading back –“

“Already on it, Coran,” Shiro interrupts.

Coran chuckles. “Coordinates on their way.”

The castle, as Ryou had said, is nearby. He docks the shuttle and steps out to find the entire team there to greet him. They look a little worse for wear – new scars, circles under their eyes – but pleased to see him. The castle time is different, he realizes when Hunk yawns. It’s nearly midnight for them.

After all the hugs and “welcome back”s are done – Keith’s longer than most – he pulls Lance aside and kisses him harder than he normally would. “Did you miss me?” He asks as Lance pulls him back to their room.

“Of course. Two months is a long time, Shiro.” Lance hesitates before asking, “Did you miss me?”

“More than you can believe. I thought of you all the time.”

“But you’re glad to be back?”

“Beyond glad. I’m the black paladin,” Shiro finally accepts, “and I’m not going anywhere for a long, long time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on my socials!  
> [Tumblr](https://rinthegreat.tumblr.com/)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rinthegreat_ao3)


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